Food and Water

Some of what I want to talk about now is completely appalling. Some is common sense. And, all of it will depend on your personal situation. What I’m referring to is the need to secure dependable sources of food and water.

Without water, you will die in three days. Without food, you will die in three weeks. And, you will suffer terribly in the process. I want to save you from that and make sure that you have the ability to survive when/if water and food distribution falters.

A Fragile Water And Food Supply

It is fascinating to me to see how fragile our food and water distribution methods are, and how absolutely dependent we are on them. What’s not so fascinating is the knowledge that we have no backups when our primary distribution systems fail.

Water

Just think about what we would do if our electricity was sabotaged. If I shut down all the electricity generation in your hometown, transportation would slow down dramatically because the traffic lights wouldn’t work, and the pumps that bring water to you and your neighbors would stop.

If the water stopped running from your faucets, do you know where you would get it?

My grandparents knew, and their parents did too. But, we don’t.

Worse, many disaster situations are accompanied by a contamination of the water supply.

So, what do you do?

Water Filters

You need between a half gallon and a gallon (3.8 liters) of water to survive, each day. If you think that this is too much, think through how much liquid you consume in a day. Furthermore, think about how much you consume when you are engaged in physical activity in hot weather. Now think about carrying that around.

A gallon of water is about 8.34 pounds (3.78 kilograms) – just for a day. If you go on a three day hike, you would have to carry more than 24 pounds of water on your back every step of the way. And, if you have children, you would need to carry THEIR water, too.

That’s why you need water filters for your home – as well as water filters that you can easily take with you.

A disaster situation that allows you to stay around your home might include a water supply that is contaminated. Having a special water filter that can eliminate heavy contamination will save you from getting sick and is a much, much easier solution than long-term storage of water in your basement. So, everyone should have special filters at home, ready to use.

But, what about those situations where you have to flee your place of residence?

There are far too many scenarios where this is possible, and some of those scenarios may include a need to make it out on foot. In such a case, carrying enough water will be impossible. This is where portable filters come in – and the need for route planning.

As you consider the possibility that you will need to exfiltrate the area where you live, you need to plan a route that includes sources of fresh water. You will also need to keep in mind that the water might be contaminated by sewage. So, you will need a portable filter and a portable means of disinfecting the water.

Those of you living in desert areas won’t have surface water available, so prepare accordingly.

Those who live near the sea have the option of special saltwater filters. They are bulkier than fresh water filters, but they provide more flexibility for those of us with our backs to the sea.

Other Water Options

Not every scenario will require you to leave your home. For instance, your water system might have survived intact, but is intermittent. (Lots of places in the world suffer this problem every day.)

Think about how you would handle that. Filling your bathtub is always an option… but, will you really want to drink that water after three days?

So, think about how you would store a supply of water.

Food

Okay, so you won’t die of thirst. That’s great… but, now you’re starving.

Not so great.

My grandmother grew up in Oklahoma just as the 20th century began. She went to school on horseback, cooked on a wood stove, and washed with homemade soap. They didn’t have electricity. They didn’t have supermarkets. They didn’t have much of anything, but they survived just fine thankyouverymuch.

And, they survived by storing food.

When the crops were harvested, everything was either canned, held in dry storage or put in a root cellar – depending on what it was. You didn’t have any other way to do things, if you wanted to eat in between the one or two harvests per year.

Where the food distribution networks fail, you may be abruptly thrown back into that mode of existence. A financial collapse could lead to the failure of just-in-time food delivery. Social unrest may keep cities from being supplied. Worse, an EMP attack would destroy the electricity grid as well as all food and water distribution for up to two years.

What will you do in those situations?

In a situation where local food distribution has been disrupted, you need extra food that you can store without refrigeration. You can start the process now by buying extra cans of food every time you go to the store and rotating them to keep them from expiring.

Freeze-dried Food

However, like water, carrying that food with you is going to be difficult, if you are on foot. That’s why you need something lighter and more portable. This is where freeze-dried food comes in.

Depending on what you buy, freeze-dried food can last 25 years on your shelf. It’s light, easy to prepare, and the good stuff tastes pretty good (e.g., Mountain House). The bags of freeze-dried food sold in camping stores last for something like seven years and fit well in a back pack. A three day supply should be easy to carry with you.

The only problem is that it’s more expensive, and… well, it’s not a long term solution. A collapse situation like a Carrington Event solar flare would cause a semi-permanent collapse of the power grid, which might take years to recover from. In that situation, you need something longer-term.

So, do you have friends with a farm?

Do you know HOW to farm?

Remember what I said about getting together with others and surviving as a community. In a semi-permanent, grid-down situation, you will need to grow your own food. In such a situation, you will need a place to do it, friends who will help you do it, and enough security to survive while doing it. You will never survive a long-term food disruption without being a part of a larger, like-minded group.

Let me say that again:

You. Cannot. Do. This. Alone.

And, once a disaster hits, it will be too late. You must begin reaching out to like-minded people now. A community will help ensure more than just security. It will help protect you from starvation.

As always, you can find in-depth discussion of all of this on websites that deal with the physical issues of survival in disaster situations. My favorite source for information such as this is James Wesley Rawles. His website is here: